In November 2012, the 18th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies was convened in Dire Dawa, a cosmopolitan city in the eastern lowlands of Ethiopia. This event gathered more than 300 international scholars from all disciplines of the humanities and social social sciences. Under the general theme of ‘movement’ these two volumes gather a collection of 70 papers that reflect recent trends in the field of Ethiopian studies. From local studies to regional and international perspectives, these studies question long term historical processes and current social and economic transformations. A number of contributions explore and give access to fresh sources of knowledge from unpublished or rediscovered texts and documents, from recordings of oral information, or from ethnographic observation. They also review literature, challenge conventional ideas and propose critical investigations on past and present issues, such as interethnic relations, women’s role, development policies and their impact.

About the Editors:

Eloi Ficquet, PhD, is an anthropologist and historian with research interest in religions, ethnicities and powers in Ethiopia. He is assistant professor at the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris. He co-edited with Gérard Prunier Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia (2015).Ahmed Hassen Omer, PhD, is historian, working on trade, religion and politics in central Ethiopia. He is the director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies of Addis Ababa University.Thomas Osmond, PhD, teaches social anthropology at Addis Ababa University. He has published a number of studies on religion, culture and power in the western and eastern Oromo societies.

Volume I:

Bahru Zewde “The Dynamics of Political Succession in Ethiopian History”

Francis Falceto “About the Heritage of Ethiopian Music(s)”

Ivo Strecker “From Hamar Ethnography to Rhetoric Culture Theory”

Jon Abbink “Rethinking the Anthropology of Ethiopia through Culture and Ritual”

This volume marks a new generation of thinking about Ethiopia, its cultures, its histories, and its modernities. Held in for the first time in Dire Dawa and on its university campus, this international conference and its papers signified the arrival of new scholars and new topics alongside venerable themes from the long tradition of Ethiopian studies. “Movement” is the right word and this volume reflects that meeting of the new and the traditions of scholarship. A most valuable read.

--James C. McCann, Professor, Boston University and Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Science.

The publication of the Proceedings of the 18th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, the result of a collaboration between the Conference organizers, the editors, and Tsehai Publishers,isa welcome addition to the expanding scholarly work in Ethiopian Studies. Organized around themes that reflect its guiding idea of “movement”, the 71 articles published in the Proceedings bring to light new trends and raise new questions in Ethiopian studies that capture the multi-dimensional transformations taking place in contemporary Ethiopia. The local-level studies bring out the new plateau Ethiopian Studies have achieved in innovative, wide-angle and multi-disciplinary research on current and past Ethiopian issues. The editors have rendered, with their judicious choices and careful editing of the articles, an invaluable service to scholars and the educated public interested in Ethiopians Studies.

--Maimire Mennasemay, Resident Scholar, Dawson College, Montreal.

Eloi Ficquet, PhD, is an anthropologist and historian with research interest in religions, ethnicities and powers in Ethiopia. He is assistant professor at the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris. He co-edited with Gerard Prunier Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia (2015).